Abstract

Seems plausible to accept the thesis that “it is not objects per se that have a special status in the mind of the child”. I grasp this thesis in the sense that the only stuff that infants can individuate are not objects, but this not implies that objects do not make the core contribution to our (adult) metaphysical conceptual scheme, i.e. to constitute a platform for basic adaptive environmental performances in adult life. Plausibly, any young human cognitive system needs to stabilize capacities to track holes and shadows since these non concrete entities could be indispensable in a world perceived as populated with objects.